Previous strategy - no longer working.

BreederUK

My previous strategy that I used to losing weight was going to the gym every weekday for 6.30am. 2 hours 15 mins cardiovascular (1 hour on cross trainer, 1 hour on the exercise and 15 mins on the treadmill) break for 15mins to change my t-shirt and etc then 30mins of weights / resistance training.

I keep a strict diet of ~ 1800 cals per day. I keep a food diary and record everything you eat.

This system worked and I lost 45kg over 9 months. I gained all this weight sadly and back to 156kg. I'm back on my strategy for 3 weeks but I've not seen any weight loss. The reason I think is that I'm burning enough in my gym sessions. I'm doing exactly the same workout but I cannot get my heart rate high enough. Anyone give any tips or advice:

Previous typical training session:



Current typical training session:



Weight over last 3 weeks.

thankyou4thevenom

You need to readjust your calorie goal now you've lost weight.

BreederUK

According to my Fitbit scales. my FFM has increased from 71.6kg to 75.0kg and my fat mass has decreased from 84.9kg to 80.9kg.





I think the readings are erroneous. Its highly unlikely I've gained 3.4kg of muscle in 3 weeks.

DeguelloTex

Three weeks isn't very long, but, in general, if you're not losing weight you're eating too much.

catt952

I think what you see in the mirror is more important than a scale reading

dhimaan

Either you can workout longer or eat less.

Liftng4Lis

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Three weeks isn't very long, but, in general, if you're not losing weight you're eating too much.

This

scottwilson16

If you are not losing fat then you are likely not in a deficit, so there are possibly things not tracked accurately or not tracked at all, you can't trick thermodynamics unfortunately. If you are eating 1,800, you aren't eating enough for that training load. I would also switch those sessions around so resistance training is first so you are not fatigued in any way and can perform optimally (I would also personally cut the duration down of the cardio). Your hydration levels can skew body composition measurements, even then there is a high error range when measuring this.

I'd say you should be closer to 2,500kcals per day. Possibly even more given the amount you want to lose then taper down more as your weight drops.

BreederUK

Okay this is an extract for my food diary. Its a typical day:




I'm eating ~1500 cals. a day. In the UK nutritionists recommend 2500cals for men per day. I'm not sure I can cope with eating a lower calorific intake.

scottwilson16

BreederUK wrote: »

Okay this is an extract for my food diary. Its a typical day:




I'm eating ~1500 cals. a day. In the UK nutritionists recommend 2500cals for men per day. I'm not sure I can cope with eating a lower calorific intake.

This has to be adjusted per individual and also for the training load, these were produced for the population as an average guideline. Definitely not eating enough and also can't see any notable fat sources in there.

jemhh

BreederUK wrote: »

Okay this is an extract for my food diary. Its a typical day:




I'm eating ~1500 cals. a day. In the UK nutritionists recommend 2500cals for men per day. I'm not sure I can cope with eating a lower calorific intake.

Are you weighing all of that food? The nice round numbers make me think you're not.

SingRunTing

DeguelloTex

What a food log says is one thing. Actual outcomes are the important things.

My checkbook can say I have plenty of money. That doesn't mean I necessarily do.

Liftng4Lis

BreederUK wrote: »

Okay this is an extract for my food diary. Its a typical day:




I'm eating ~1500 cals. a day. In the UK nutritionists recommend 2500cals for men per day. I'm not sure I can cope with eating a lower calorific intake.

So inaccurate logging. Get a food scale.

SingRunTing

jemhh wrote: »

BreederUK wrote: »

Okay this is an extract for my food diary. Its a typical day:




I'm eating ~1500 cals. a day. In the UK nutritionists recommend 2500cals for men per day. I'm not sure I can cope with eating a lower calorific intake.

Are you weighing all of that food? The nice round numbers make me think you're not.

+1

SezxyStef

How much cereal? 75grams? 100 grams?
How much chicken? 400 calories of chicken is a lot...same with the cereal.

AS mentioned get a food scale.

And just another comment...your previous method helped you lose weight but not keep it off...that's a red flag for me. Try something different that you can live with the rest of your life instead of being on a yo yo.

BreederUK

No I'm not weighing foods they are estimates based on uniform portion sizes. Clearly, I'm underestimating my calorific intake. Will investigate food scales.

oh_happy_day

SezxyStef wrote: »

How much cereal? 75grams? 100 grams?
How much chicken? 400 calories of chicken is a lot...same with the cereal.

AS mentioned get a food scale.

And just another comment...your previous method helped you lose weight but not keep it off...that's a red flag for me. Try something different that you can live with the rest of your life instead of being on a yo yo.

+1

I think her comment on the sustainability of your strategies is wise and worth pondering OP.

DeguelloTex

BreederUK wrote: »

No I'm not weighing foods they are estimates based on uniform portion sizes. Clearly, I'm underestimating my calorific intake. Will investigate food scales.

It's likely that you are but, even so, don't freak out too much over three weeks. That's not a lot of time, all in all.

jemhh

BreederUK wrote: »

No I'm not weighing foods they are estimates based on uniform portion sizes. Clearly, I'm underestimating my calorific intake. Will investigate food scales.

Do that for sure. I'd also urge you to eat either according to an mfp goal of 1.5-2 lbs a week or TDEE-20%, not 1500 or 1475.

daj150

Aside from the food weighing part...if you were doing the same exact cardio routine for along time, your cardiovascular endurance increase, thus increasing the effort you now need to get your heart rate higher. You should consider adding some sort of intervals for your cardio training to allow for some change and diversity. This will help with your calorie burn for your workouts. But as noted, accurately measuring your food is extremely important. Good luck!

michelle7673

That's a lot of cardio steady state in a fixed repetitive motion. If your burn is not showing as high, you may be much more efficient (which makes sense). Is that kind of long steady state time sustainable? Is that why you stopped? Conventional wisdom also seems to aim at lifting first, to maximize power/energy/gains. It could be that a tweaked routine could give you better results in less time. But yes, also, I think you are probably underestimating your intake, per the posts above.

kyrannosaurus

I wish bananas were only 75 calories. You appear to be underestimating what you are eating. You need to rethink how you are logging to improve the accuracy.

starwhisperer6

When do you have time for anything but work and the gym? That is so not a life I could live forever.

BreederUK

I would like to point out that I actually really enjoy going to the gym. Its a pleasure not a chore. I'm applying for jobs in March so I need to lose weight for my job interviews. I'm currently studying towards my accountancy exams full time and the gym is helping stay concentrated.

Thanks for all the advice and support everyone. I'll report back here at the end of the month with an update on my progress.

Take care everyone!

Domicinator

Food scale was the best decision I ever made regarding the weight loss process. Not only does it keep you honest, but also teaches you how incredibly inaccurate packaging labels and measuring cups are. You can't eyeball it. Weighing is the only way.

Great example: I eat a lot of plain Greek yogurt. I call it my "mush". I do 2 servings of yogurt, 1 serving of whatever kind of granola I have in the pantry, and a tablespoon of honey. It's been one of my staples over the last several months. I used to measure the yogurt with measuring cups, but when I got a food scale, I found out that I was WAY underestimating how much I was eating.

I also found out that 4 servings on some containers of yogurt is more like 3 1/2 and on some containers it's more like 4 1/2. Chobani says there are 4 cups in their large container when there are only 3 1/2 if you REALLY scrape it all out thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Fage says there are 4 cups in theirs too, and theirs is about $3 more than Chobani, but they give you well over 4 cups.

wkwebby

Your body is also getting used to your exercise routine. Is there a way you can increase your incline on the treadmill? You'd be surprised what 1% incline when you had none can do for raising your heartrate. If you do not raise your heartrate like you did before doing the same exercise, then you are OVER estimating your calorie burn which in turn causes you to over estimate on how much you should eat. This equals, you're eating too much to lose any of the weight.

You have to face it (looking at your heart rate charts) that you are more fit than before even though you're starting at the same weight again.

BreederUK

No I'm definitely not fitter than before. I'm 156kg and previously I was around 120kg on the previous heart rate charts.

I'm definitely going to start weighing my food.

wkwebby wrote: »

Your body is also getting used to your exercise routine. Is there a way you can increase your incline on the treadmill? You'd be surprised what 1% incline when you had none can do for raising your heartrate. If you do not raise your heartrate like you did before doing the same exercise, then you are OVER estimating your calorie burn which in turn causes you to over estimate on how much you should eat. This equals, you're eating too much to lose any of the weight.

You have to face it (looking at your heart rate charts) that you are more fit than before even though you're starting at the same weight again.

BreederUK

I've identified there were hidden calories in my food diary. The marinade I had been using on my chicken is 400cals. I've now switched to a dry spice rub which is neglible calories. I'm wondering if I've really gained muscle and lost fat as according to Fitbit.



I'm going to increase my cardio by using the incline treadmill at the gym.

Thank for the continued support.

SLLRunner

BreederUK wrote: »

Okay this is an extract for my food diary. Its a typical day:




I'm eating ~1500 cals. a day. In the UK nutritionists recommend 2500cals for men per day. I'm not sure I can cope with eating a lower calorific intake.

Where's the serving size and the weight of those foods? The only time I had a 75 calorie bananna is when I cut off some bruised parts. Bananas generally range in calories from 110 to as much as 145 calories each, depending on weight. Get a food scale, and weigh everything.

It's easy to underestimate calories in, which is what you're doing here.

What about exercise? Do you eat your exercise calories back?

jgnatca

Budding accountants know how to stick with a winning strategy. I predict with accurate logging and persistence you are going to see results.